venezuelanalysis.com | Venezuela News, Views, and Analysis

Allende was Wrong: Neoliberalism, Venezuela's Student Right and the Answer from the Left

By Lucas Koerner- Venezuelanalysis.com, Feb 10th 2015

"Defend University Autonomy for True People's Democracy". Photo taken at the University of the Andes. (Lucas Koer

Venezuelanalysis journalist, Lucas Koerner, takes a look at the rightwing student movement in Venezuela, its ideology and appropriation of leftwing symbols and discourse. He also examines what model of education is being proposed in Venezuela's new "experimental" public universities as an alternative to neoliberal visions of education. This analysis includes an interview with Luis Javier Gomez Rojas, a facilitator at the Bolivarian University for Workers.

An Oral History of Grassroots Venezuelans in the Midst of the Economic War

By Cory Fischer-Hoffman/ Various, Jan 30th 2015

A woman shows her constitution and support for President Maduro at Plaza Bolivar on January 21. (Cory Fischer-Hoffman)

While the shortages and long-lines are creating serious inconveniences and undeniable burdens on most Venezuelans, beyond the frustration, the voices of grassroots Venezuelans are getting lost beneath negative predictions of macroeconomic collapse. In this oral history collage, members of the Venezuelan grassroots and popular movements speak for themselves about the roots of the economic war, their strategies in the face of it, and the solutions that they propose.

Venezuela in 2014: Maduro Administration Given Reprieve by Divided Opposition

By Ewan Robertson - Venezuelanalysis.com, Dec 19th 2014

From left to right: opposition leaders Leopoldo Lopez, Maria Corina Machado, and Henrique Capriles (AFP)

VA.com’s Ewan Robertson offers an assessment of the relative positions of the Bolivarian government and conservative opposition after a bumpy year for Venezuela’s politics and economy.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Demands Action from Developed Countries at UN Climate Talks

Dec 13th 2014

While the general agreed upon “danger point” would be a global temperature rise of more than 2 degrees Celsius, many members

VA.com’s Cory Fischer Hoffman writes a special report from the United Nations climate talks in Lima, Peru, describing the reactions of the Venezuelan government and social movements to the attempt to reach a consensus over how to address global warming.

Revolutionary Muralists Fill Venezuela’s Andean Capital with Color and History (+ PHOTOS)

By Z.C. Dutka - Venezuelanalysis.com, Dec 10th 2014

Fuga was created just days after Chavez’s death, when Rodrigo met two other artists and kindred spirits among the millions waiting in line to pay their respects at the socialist leader’s wake in Caracas. It was a time of disbelief and heartache for the majority of Venezuelans- but many, like Rodrigo, hit the ground running, channeling grief into action.

Pemon Indigenous Occupy Airport in Venezuela: “We Have Had Enough of Broken Promises”

By Z.C. Dutka- Venezuelanalysis.com, Dec 2nd 2014

The occupied airport does not see much traffic (all photos Z.C. Dutka / Venezuelanalysis.com)

VA.com's Z.C. Dutka gives an eyewitness account of the break out of an indigenous protest in the town of Santa Elena de Uairen in southern Venezuela.

Venezuela’s Decision Not to Devalue Its Currency Raises Questions

By Cory Fischer-Hoffman - Venezuelanalysis.com, Nov 15th 2014

José Khan, Director of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) stated that Venezuela will not devalue the bolivar currency (El Univ

Cory Fischer Hoffman looks at the pressures facing the Venezuelan economy and the questions raised by the decision of President Nicolas Maduro’s government not to adjust (devalue) the country’s exchange rate in the near future.

"Change the System, Not the Climate!" Voices from the Social PreCOP

By Cory Fischer Hoffman - Venezuelanalysis.com, Nov 10th 2014

Members of civil society insisted that a transition be made from fossil fuels to community controlled renewable energy sources (

A warm ocean breeze rolled across the picturesque beach on Venezuela's Caribbean island of Margarita.

For the Barrios, the Difference Between Repression and Revolution Depends on National Security

By Z.C. Dutka / various - Venezuealanalysis.com, Nov 5th 2014

The National Guard and police presence is on the rise as checkpoints and operatives are set up along public transportation route

Early last month, five men were shot dead in a high-rise building at the center of Caracas during an early morning standoff between special intelligence police (CICPC) and armed members of revolutionary collectives. While the circumstances leading up to the event are still unclear, the so-called Quinta Crespo Massacre created a ripple effect within the Venezuelan left that quickly highlighted a growing rift between the revolutionary left and the Bolivarian government.

Venezuela’s Indigenous Pemon are Caught in Time on Land Too Valuable for Numbers

By Z.C. Dutka- venezuelanalysis.com, Oct 21st 2014

A pemon boy rests on the way to Mt. Roraima. (Benjamin Mast)

In the shadow of Columbus Day, venezuelanalysis.com writer Z.C. sketches, through interviews, an intimate portrait of a changing people – the Pemon of Venezuela’s mineral-rich Southeastern border. Their testimonies of struggle reflect the country’s changing political landscape and highlights a stark generational gap that afflicts many of Latin America’s first nation peoples.

Planting the People's Seed Law in Venezuela

By Cory Fischer-Hoffman - Venezuelanalysis.com, Oct 15th 2014

Anti-GMO Stencil on a building in Bellas Artes, Caracas. (Photo: Cory Fischer-Hoffman for Venezuelanalysis.com)

The battle against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) is central in the ongoing fight between transnational corporations and the health and sovereignty of the people of Venezuela.

International Media Barely Raises Eyebrow over Assassination of Pro-Government Legislator in Venezuela

By Ewan Robertson - Venezuelanalysis.com, Oct 6th 2014

The gruesome assassination of pro-government lawmaker Robert Serra (27) and his partner Maria Herrera last Wednesday has shaken

Media either ignored or downplayed Robert Serra’s assassination and side-stepped the issue of far-right political violence, further highlighting how tightly mainstream media sticks to the prevailing narrative on Venezuela.

Venezuela's “Political Prisoner” Allegory

By Cory Fischer-Hoffman - Venezuelanalysis.com, Oct 2nd 2014

Photos of political prisoners detained at San Carlos between 1960-1979, on a wall of the former prison in an exhibit maintained

In the face of arrests, trials, and detentions of opposition and student leaders, allegations of political repression in Venezuela are circulating international and private national press. The Venezuelan government and its supporters adamantly reject the claim that Venezuela has any political prisoners and they assert that everyone in detention is being tried for their involvement in criminal conduct. This article aims to explore the issue of political prisoners in Venezuela by providing a broader historical context combined with an analysis of power in Venezuela today.

Victims of 2002 Venezuelan Coup Denounce Double Standards in Justice after Iván Simonovis’ Release

By Cory Fischer-Hoffman- venezuelanalysis.com, Sep 22nd 2014

Yesenia Fuentes, president of the Association of Victims of April 11, 2002 (Asovic) speaking at a Press Conference on Llaguno br

Just blocks away from the Presidential Palace, stands Llaguno bridge, the site of a massacre during the April 2002 coup briefly removing Hugo Chavez from Venezuelan office. Today, the bridge was filled with family members of the victims who were demanding answers and justice following the release of former Police chief Iván Simonovis.

Venezuelan Voices, Part II: An Inflammatory Question

By Z.C. Dutka- Various, Sep 4th 2014

A PDVSA [state] truck transporting gasoline in Caracas (AVN)

As Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro combats corruption, reassigns half of ministry positions, launches “a new stage of the revolution,” and even hints at a minimum wage increase for November, the question remains what economic steps will be taken to reverse the high inflation that critics are quick to associate with his leadership.